COMEUP 2025 Stars Launches 20 Startups Globally with Comprehensive Support

COMEUP has revealed the final 20 startups chosen for its 2025 Stars programme, and the organisers sound pretty determined to push these founders beyond Korea’s borders. The Korea Startup Forum said the shortlist was pulled from 559 applications – a record turnout – with competition running at nearly 28 to 1, which is no walk in the park. Five startups were picked from each of four regions: the US, Japan, China and Europe, and all will now receive tailored support through local partner houses.

I’ve seen similar schemes before while covering teams for Arageek, and honestly, programmes like this can make or break a young company if the timing is right. That said, breaking into a foreign market is rarely smooth sailing… a bit of a faff, you know? So the added mentoring, investor matching and even office space should give these founders a fair shot.

The US-bound group includes Riibotics, Refundy, Minimap, Moulder and Zenerate – a mix of robotics, commerce, lifestyle and proptech players. They’ll be working closely with PEN Ventures to fine-tune their localisation strategies for North America, which I reckon is spot on considering how crowded that market can be.

Heading towards Japan are REALDRAW, Locally, BeMyFriends, Indent Corporation and OMNIOUS.AI. Their focus areas range from entertainment tech to AI-driven software, and they’ll lean on support from Shinhan Future’s Lab Japan to adapt their products to local consumer habits. Japan can be a tricky ecosystem to crack, so having doors opened for them should save a lot of legwork.

Meanwhile, the China cohort – GROOVY X, Lillycover, BITNAL Corp., ALPES and Wala Inc. – is working in beauty, ESG and healthcare. E-Land China EIV will help them navigate everything from IP management to talent matching. And believe it or not, even something as simple as establishing the right local network can speed up market entry by months.

Over in Europe, Softionics, eMotiv, UMTR, Wellmatix and KALMAN will be teamed up with Start2 Group. These companies span robotics, AI and healthtech, and the plan is to drop them straight into field-focused support so they can build real relationships on the ground. Europe’s regulatory maze can be… well, lets just say it’s not my favourite, but it certainly rewards patience.

All 20 finalists will kick off their acceleration with an orientation workshop later this month, before making their big push at COMEUP 2025, running 10–12 December at COEX in Seoul. They’re set to pitch to global investors and take part in meetups with regional partners, followed by business trips next year to deepen their understanding of each target market.

KSF Chairman Han Sangwoo noted that the revamped programme was designed to help Korean startups gain proper momentum overseas, adding that he hopes the chosen teams will boost the international standing of Korea’s wider startup ecosystem.

As someone who’s watched founders across the MENA region hustle for visibility, I’m always a bit chuffed to bits when I see structured support like this. On the flip side, the real test starts once the spotlight fades — but if these teams play their cards right, they might just turn opportunity into traction.

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